Le Bris enjoys ‘good lesson’ as Black Cats give Arteta 'pain in my tummy'
Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris thought the Arsenal draw was a ‘good lesson’ (Richard Sellers/PA)
Regis Le Bris believes Sunderland’s 2-2 draw with Premier League leaders Arsenal was a “good lesson” for his young squad.
An entertaining tussle saw the high-flying Black Cats snatch a point against the Gunners when Brian Brobbey stabbed home from Dan Ballard’s flicked header in the fourth minute of added time.
Arsenal academy product Ballard had sent Sunderland ahead with a thumping strike, but the Gunners responded after the break through Bukayo Saka and a stunning Leandro Trossard effort from the edge of the area.
Brobbey then had the final say to secure a point which keeps Sunderland in the top four after 11 games and Le Bris believes a test against the league leaders was a good lesson.
He said: “It’s still tough against a team like Arsenal, one of the best teams in Europe, so you have to do a masterclass, otherwise it’s impossible to win something.
“I think the first half was well-balanced. We tried to defend high when it was possible, organised a deep block, really compact, narrow, aggressive. We had the opportunity to manage the ball, sometimes.
“We even felt that it was possible to disturb them in that part.
“The second half was a bit tougher because you defend for long periods and then you have to stay composed with the ball.
“We still have a really young squad, really young players without great experience in the Premier League, so it’s a good lesson.”
A tough test on Wearside ended both Arsenal’s 10-game winning run in all competitions and their streak of eight consecutive clean sheets.
Asked how he felt when Ballard scored to end the clean sheet run, boss Mikel Arteta replied: “A pain in my tummy because I don’t want to concede any goals! It was a goal and put the game in a difficult position.”
Arteta admitted he felt “disappointment and frustration” at conceding late on.
Following Brobbey’s equaliser, Arsenal did go close to finding a late winner, but Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino were denied in quick succession by Robin Roefs and Ballard, respectively, at the death.
Reflecting on the game, Arteta said: “The last feeling, it’s disappointment and frustration because we wanted the three points and we have to navigate through a really tough game.
“We knew that, very disruptive. We have to deal with situations that are obviously difficult to deal with.
“They played really well, we conceded a goal that is not in our standards.
“After that I think the team reacted really well, we showed a lot of personality and courage, scored the first goal, scored the second goal and we had totally dominated the game.
“Then you have to rely on defending the box when they start to put six or seven players there.
“It can be from a direct play, a throw-in or any situation, we can defend the action better.
“Today we haven’t done it and conceded the goal. In the last minutes, we have another massive chance with Riccy and Mikel to win it, which I think we deserved to do.
“It didn’t happen, but it shows what we’ve done in the last 10 games, winning them in the manner that we’ve done it with clean sheets, missing seven players in the frontline. It shows how difficult it is.”
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